I whirled around and tried to make sense of what was happening. Thick terrain blocked my view, but I spotted a path and rushed toward it. Wrapping my arms around my midsection, I made my way north…or was it west? I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t been here before. My bare feet fought with the uneven ground, and nasty twigs tore at me from every direction as I walked.
A bird landed in front of me, and I suddenly knew to look at a tree where a camera box was mounted.
“How did I know…” I trailed off and studied the camouflaged box. “If that’s there, then…” I looked over my shoulder and saw Blackstone running toward me.
“John!” I screamed, but they raced right past me like I was invisible. “John?”
Nothing.
As soon as I heard the hooting, I stepped back off the trail to hide behind a tree. I watched in fear as a couple of cartel guys charged after them.
“One, two, three,” I counted, knowing two more had to pass. The last two were about thirty seconds behind. They stopped in front of me. One had a camera and was filming as the other held the rookie’s radio. Something black was between his fingers, and it caught my attention.
What was that?
I stepped out and held my breath before I let it go in one shaky blow. “Hey,” I whispered loudly. They didn’t even budge.
Okay, so I was invisible. I pushed my panic aside and studied the black thing. It was the only thing that was blurry. No matter how many times I looked at it, my eyes couldn’t focus in on it. Something told me it was important.
“Santo Grial!” the man in front of the camera said in Spanish.
“Nosotros somos dioses,” we both said together.
How did I know to say that?
Their voices faded out as a loud tapping noise took over my head, then a huge rush of adrenaline flooded my veins.
I covered my mouth to stop the scream before…
The wind blew hard against the tin roof and woke me from the nightmare that held me tight in its grip.
“Jesus,” I panted and felt around my chest where my heart was trying to escape. “Where the hell did that come from?”
Another gust of wind had me pulling back the curtain. I squinted through the darkness to see hail and snow coming down like a cloak over the mountains. The howl of the wind through the trees was so eerie I leapt back under the covers to snuggle into the safety of John’s warm body.
“Mm, mine,” he muttered as he wrapped his arm around me to pull me in.
“Yours,” I agreed as I lay there. My brain swirled with confusion, and my eyes stayed wide open until morning.
John’s phone went off, and I felt him jerk up and snatch it from the night table.
“Yeah?” he answered and shifted to sit on the side of the bed. “Copy that.”
I immediately felt the loss as soon as his weight was gone and the mattress lifted. I rolled over and watched him reach for his cargo pants. His body seemed charged with energy; it positively buzzed around his body. I knew it was something important.
“Everything okay?”
“We got the call.” He cleared his throat and shrugged on a t-shirt. “We ship out in one hour.”
My stomach dropped, and I tried to remember what Savannah taught me.
This is what they do. This is what they live for. They need us to be supportive when they leave. We can crumble once they’re gone, then take our next deep breath when they return.
“Okay.” I shifted to sit up on the headboard.
“I need to grab my gear and check my radio. Stupid piece of shit likes to crap out on me.” Sweat broke out along my chest.
I can handle this.
“Okay.” I wasn’t sure what to say. Apparently, my brain was fixed on the only word it could come up with to get me through this.
Once he was dressed, he looked over at me, and I couldn’t miss that flicker of excitement that glowed in his eyes whenever he was about to go on a mission. They all looked the same way, like kids who were handed BB guns and were told there were no rules.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” My shaky voice betrayed me.
He lifted my left hand and kissed my ring finger before he shifted and slowly pressed his lips to mine.
“You gave me a reason,” he whispered, and I knew what he meant. I leaned forward